Newbuildings Place

This article is about the building in West Sussex. For the village in Northern Ireland, see Newbuildings. For the village in England, see Newbuildings, Devon.

Newbuildings Place
Newbuildings Place in 2016
General information
Status	Completed
Type	House
Architectural style	Artisan Mannerism
Classification	Grade I
Location	Shipley, West Sussex
Coordinates	51°0′30″N 0°22′32″W
Completed	c. 1683
Owner	John Lytton, 5th Earl of Lytton
Technical details
Material	Stone

Newbuildings Place is a 17th-century Artisan Mannerist house near Shipley, West Sussex. The house is a former home of Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, who is buried in the grounds of the house. The building is currently owned by John Lytton, 5th Earl of Lytton, and is Grade I listed.

History

Barn in the grounds of Newbuildings Place

Newbuildings Place was built by Philip Caryll in the 17th century, around 1683. Caryll's family owned the estate for over 100 years.[1] The house was built with numerous priest holes, as the Caryll family were Roman Catholic.[1] It is situated around 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from the church in Shipley, West Sussex.[2]

In the 1820s and 1830s, paupers were housed at Newbuildings Place.[3] In 1833, some of the paupers damaged the house by using its wood panelling for firewood.[4] The building is a former home of Wilfrid Scawen Blunt,[5] an author, poet and Arabian horse breeder.[1] Blunt originally lived in the house from 1870 to 1872, during which time he added oak to the house's porch and panelling.[3] He moved back into Newbuildings Place in 1906, after his separation from Lady Anne Blunt.[6] Whilst living there, he bought tapestries and furniture from William Morris, which still survive in the house.[1] Blunt is buried in a tomb in the house's grounds;[6] in his will, he requested to be buried in the house's woods in his travelling carpet rather than in a coffin.[7][8]

Blunt's daughter, who inherited the house, was married to Neville Bulwer-Lytton, 3rd Earl of Lytton.[9] In 1957, the house was sold to Judith Blunt-Lytton, 16th Baroness Wentworth, and after being owned by some of her relatives, it was then owned by John Lytton, 5th Earl of Lytton.[3] In 1959, the house became a Grade I listed building.[1] The grounds of the house contain a Grade II listed barn,[10] and a Grade II listed dovecote.[11]

Architecture

Newbuildings Place is built in the Artisan Mannerist style, with some interior features matching the Jacobean style.[2] The style of the building is unusual for houses in Sussex, whereas it is more common in Kent and Surrey.[2] The house is built of stone, including Horsham Stone, and has two storeys.[1] The kitchen and cellar are original to the house.[1] The façades of the house contain two gables.[3][2] The roof of the building is made of Horsham stone slab.[1]

References

1. Historic England. "Newbuildings Place (1180744)". National Heritage List for England.
2. Nairn, Ian; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2001). Sussex. Yale University Press. p. 323. ISBN 9780300096774.
3. A History of the County of Sussex: Volume 6 Part 2, Bramber Rape (North-Western Part) Including Horsham. Vol. 6. Victoria County History. 1986. pp. 112–117 – via British History Online.
4. "Horsham, Sussex". Workhouses. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
5. "Shipley" (PDF). Horsham District. June 2012. p. 11. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
6. "Report On The History Of Crawley Parks" (PDF). Sussex Gardens Trust. March 2013. pp. 17–19. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
7. "Mr Wilfred S. Blunt's Will". The Guardian. 12 February 1923. p. 11. Retrieved 15 July 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Rich Briton evens vetoes a coffin". The Beatrice Daily Express. 13 March 1923. p. 1. Retrieved 14 July 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Sussex Depicted" (PDF). Sussex Record Society. 2001. p. 259. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
10. Historic England. "Barn to South East of Newbuildings Place (1026929)". National Heritage List for England.
11. Historic England. "Dovecot to South of Newbuildings Place (1354236)". National Heritage List for England.